GO TO SOURCE LUCKNOW, INDIA, March 20, 2001: Building temples has become one way to grab land in some parts of India. An unauthorized temple often begins with the installation of the Deity and then grows into a full-fledged temple over time. In Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar township, large green stretches of land and parks were planned for the new residential…
GO TO SOURCE COIMBATORE, INDIA, March 19, 2001: Extending its support to Tamil Nadu parties that advocate that an autonomous board be set up to oversee Hindu Temples, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad wants the state government to hand over the management of temples. Churches and mosques are already governed by autonomous bodies and the VHP wants the same treatment for…
GO TO SOURCE NEW YORK, NEW YORK, February 19, 2001: In a Saturday-morning class of mothers and toddlers at New York City’s Next Generation Yoga Studio, students become sleeping doggies, lions and snakes before the 45-minute session is over. Baby boomers are introducing their children to yoga, believing that balanced lives begin with balanced children. YogaKids, an organization in Michigan…
GO TO SOURCE KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, March 20, 2001: Beneath the normally tranquil surface of Malaysian society, dangerous tensions and the potential for violence still lurk. Sixteen-year-old Indran Rajasinga was on his way home when he was attacked by a gang of Malay youths. “I have no idea how I got away.” A wound to his head required stitches and…
GO TO SOURCE WASHINGTON, U.S.A, March 20, 2001: The US has dismissed as “inaccurate and self-serving” the Taliban militia’s explanation that it blew up two giant Buddha statues in Afghanistan in a fit of pique after a foreign delegation offered money to help preserve these ancient artifacts. “We definitely don’t buy this explanation,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said after…
GO TO SOURCE COLOMBO, SRI LANKA, March 16, 2001: Two leading Indian veterinarians, Dr. V. Krishamurty and Dr. J. Cheeran of the Bangalore-based Asian Elephant Conservation Center, made house calls on over 60 domesticated elephants around Sri Lanka, treating them and giving their mahouts tips on pachyderm care. Largely appreciative of the care lavished on the elephants kept as family…
GO TO SOURCE BANGALORE, INDIA, March 19, 2001: Fifty-seven-year old Colonel S.S. Rajan set on a “padayatra” or foot journey, to cover a distance of 16,000 km in order to spread the message of peace, and to retrace the hallowed footsteps of Adi Shankara, as part of the spiritual renaissance. “Walking has its own challenges,” says the retired additional chief…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 18, 2001: An estimated 5,000 monkeys are roaming freely in the capital and in some cases creating havoc among the populace. In an attempt to rescue some of these monkeys and return them to their natural habitat, a non-governmental organization has formed a rescue center in the state of Haryana. Expecting cooperation to…
GO TO SOURCE LUDHIANA, INDIA, March 18, 2001: Resentment prevails among hundreds of devotees of Baba Kirti Giri against People For Animals (PFA, which is not the same organization as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA) for entering the ashram with shoes on and later taking away a couple of cheetah skins, including one used by the Baba…